City officials and business leaders broke ground on the Marriott Marquis.

City officials and business leaders broke ground on the Marriott Marquis.

Photo: Erin Mulvaney

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Model of the Marriott Marquis. The convention center hotel will have a 60,000 square foot amenity deck.

Model of the Marriott Marquis. The convention center hotel will have a 60,000 square foot amenity deck.

Photo: Erin Mulvaney

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Model of the 30-story Marriott Marquis planned for 2.6 acres across from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Model of the 30-story Marriott Marquis planned for 2.6 acres across from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Photo: Erin Mulvaney

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Model of the 30-story Marriott Marquis planned for 2.6 acres across from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Model of the 30-story Marriott Marquis planned for 2.6 acres across from the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Photo: Erin Mulvaney

Construction to begin on downtown Marriott Marquis near convention center

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Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday on the site of the planned Marriott Marquis, which will be downtown’s second convention center hotel.

In the parking lot that will be torn down to make way for the 30-story, 1,000-room hotel, city, county and business leaders celebrated the beginning of construction of the Marriott flagship in downtown. Leaders say the hotel has the potential to boost Houston’s convention business and transform the lackluster east end of downtown.

The Marriott will join the Hilton Americas in attracting convention business to Houston, officials say. Together, the hotels will together offer 2,200 rooms. The 30-story, $350 million building is located on roughly three acres next to Discovery Green and the George R. Brown Convention Center. Construction begins on April 21 and it is set to open September 2016, in time for the 2017 Super Bowl.

The hotel will include a 60,000-square-feet rooftop deck, with an infinity pool and a lazy river, overlooking Discovery Green. The hotel also will have 100,000 square feet of meeting space and retail on the ground floor.

Renovations to the convention center also include new retail.

The deal to build a second convention center hotel downtown became final last April. The developer, Houston-based Rida Development Corp., will build and manage the hotel, just west of the convention center. The city approved the project in 2012.

Financing for the $335 million project will come in part from the quasipublic Houston First Corp., which manages the city’s convention business. The agency is providing funds to buy the hotel site, build an adjacent parking garage and make other improvements around the convention center, including adding retail space.

In 2012, City Council approved $138 million in economic incentives and tax rebates to build a second downtown convention center hotel.